Nemesis
by Cuticlecare
Summary: Light against dark. Jedi vs Sith. Jesse Swanson always knew Beca Mitchell was his nemesis. By right, they should loathe each other to the very fibre of their beings. But of course, the universe always has other plans. Inspired by PS4 Star Wars Battlefront II Live Action trailer; a romance in three parts.
1. Chapter 1

**AN :** _Hi, this three-part special is inspired by this really cute trailer for Star Wars Battlefront II trailer. It's on Youtube as PS4 Star Wars Battlefront II Live action trailer. Please see that before reading, if you could. It's the absolutely cutest. Dedicated to all Pitch Perfect and Star Wars fans. Big up to my JECA squad. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!_

* * *

 **Part I**

Jesse Swanson remembered the very first time he set his eyes on Beca Mitchell.

It must be just after his twelth birthday. Autumn had came early that year and there was a slight chill in the air. No matter. He was snug in his warm living room, playing with his Star Wars action figures. They were not new with some dents and paint chippe where he had been more than a little enthusiastic in his fights, but they were his favourite. His Uncle Jack gave them to him years and years ago and Jesse lost count of all the times he had happily spent re-enacting battles that happened in a galaxy far, far away. He might be in this warm living room, in a suburban house, on a suburban street but here was the epic fight of good against evil - he was a Jedi knight brandishing his blue lightsaber, protecting the good guys, fighting off the evil Empire.

"I am Luke Skywalker," Jesse yelled. "You can never defeat me!"

Then he sensed a disturbance in the Force.

There was a large truck outside. Mr. and Mrs. O'Brien next door had decided to sell up some months back and retire to Florida. Jesse missed the O'Briens - Mrs. O'Brien always have candy for him - but apparently their children were all grown up, the house was just too big for the two of them to be knocking about and the weather in the Sunshine State was just so much nicer. That was what Jesse heard his momma said. So the 'For Sale' sign was hammered on the front yard. Then the 'Sold' sign. And now this huge truck parked outside on the street could only mean one thing.

The new neighbours were moving in.

Jesse had wondered what sort of people would move in. He was not going to lie - it would be exciting if the new neighbours had a boy his own age. They could go to the same school together, be in the same class and totally hang out after school playing in the back yard. That would be so cool. Like he said, his Jedi senses had immediately picked up that ripple in the Force. He had a great view from the bay window. There were stacks of brown boxes on the lawn and a ramp was stacked against the back of the truck. A lone figure appeared at the top of the ramp.

Jesse frowned.

Huh.

By the looks of it, the new neighbours did have a kid his age after all.

But it was a girl.

Her long brunette hair was swept up in a high ponytail and she was dressed head to toe in black. That was….unusual. Girls liked pink, right? They were always dressed in pink or pastels or glittery stuff that sticks to everything. That much Jesse knew. Why was this girl in all black then? Jesse then clocked what the girl was holding in her hands.

In retrospect, he should have known it then. All that time, a long, long time ago, Jesse Swanson should have known at that very instant, what this all meant. The sign at the side of the truck was a huge red flag. Huge. Like Death Star huge. Imperial Movers? The logo on the side of the truck said Imperial Movers and Storage. It could not be more obvious. He did not need to see the Darth Vader action figure the girl was holding in her hands to come the inevitable conclusion.

His new neighbour was from the Dark side.

It was definitely autumn when the new neighbours moved in because the wind had picked up and brown leaves were fluttering down. The girl walked slowly down the ramp and without a pause in her stride, she turned her head towards his house. It was as if she, too, could sense his presence. Even under torture years in the future, Jesse would never admit it but at that point, he actually shrank back from the window. It was stupid. He didn't even know why he did it. With the daylight outside and him partly hidden behind the curtains, there was no way anyone could have seen him. But when her eyes locked in his direction, Jesse very nearly dropped his precious Luke Skywalker behind the sofa. And at that very moment, Jesse Swanson knew that he had finally met his nemesis.

* * *

She was introduced to the class as Rebecca Mitchell.

Jesse remembered how she stood straight and unforgiving at the front of the class as Mrs. Philips introduced her as the new girl who just moved in from New York. When asked to say a few words, she immediately corrected Mrs Philips, saying her name was Beca. There was an annoyed flash on her face as she reiterated her name and then she mumbled through the rest of the introduction.

Mrs. Philips directed her to the empty seat which was coincidentally next to Jesse's. He tried not to stare as the girl made her way down the aisle. She was staring straight ahead, not making eye contact with anyone and then sat down, flinging her bag to the floor next to her feet. It was a worn Darth Vader backpack, more grey than black with one strap fraying. The excitement of the new kid in class wore off as soon as she settled into her seat and Mrs Philips continued the class. Her droning voice was soporific enough to lull anyone to sleep. Except for Jesse; he was way too curious about this new girl.

He stole a couple of glances.

She was pale. Sickly pale. Like she had not seen any sunlight in a thousand years and Emperor Palpatine kinda pale. She must liked her hair up in a pony tail because that was how exactly she styled her hair again today. She was much smaller than she looked. Maybe he was just imagining things, seeing her strode down that truck jail last week. He thought she was way taller. But that scary expression was still fixed on her face - a mix of truculence and 'Don't mess with me or I'll choke you' look. Jesse decided this new girl was equally small and frightening. She must have felt him staring at her because the girl turned towards him, a blank look on her face. Jesse grinned at her and after a quick check to see whether Mrs. Philips was busy at the blackboard, he leant forward.

"I know you," he whispered, smirking at her, almost smug to hold something over this weird girl sitting next to him.

That blank look on her face morphed into a perplexed stare. She got very blue eyes. Jesse noticed that.

"No, you don't," she shook her head, her pony tail bobbing behind her.

"I totally know you. You are my next door neighbour," Jesse replied gleefully. "I saw you move in. You walked down that ramp from the back of that Imperial truck. Hey, did you ride the truck all the way from New York? Is your dad a truck driver?"

"No," came the shocked reply.

Mrs. Phillips had turned around from the board, scanning the classroom. The girl swiftly looked to the front and Jesse was smart enough to shut his mouth and hunker down. He really didn't want to risk detention. It took another ten minutes of history lesson before Jesse felt he should talk to the new girl again.

"So you like Star Wars huh?"

She was paying attention to the lesson, her brow furrowed in concentration. Just when Jesse thought she was ignoring him, she replied back, "Whatever gave you the idea?"

"I saw you with a Darth Vader doll the other day."

"They are action figures -" she practically hissed at him. "Not dolls."

Huh. She got the term correct. Jesse thought maybe because she was a girl, 'doll' would have been a better term but obviously not. Mrs. Philips had ordered everyone to take down the notes on the board and the new girl was now reaching into her bag searching for a notepad and a pen.

"Nice bag," Jesse snorted, giving her backpack a derisive look. This time she looked up at him, her eyes narrowing into slits.

"You got a problem with my backpack?" Her eyes then shifted to his desk where Jesse had his own folder opened. It was covered, absolutely covered with Star Wars stickers and one glance was all it took. "Ah." she said in comprehension. "Rebel Alliance."

"Evil galactic empire," Jesse nodded back in response.

They both stared at each other with equal loathing.

"Loser," he finally heard her muttering under her breath.

"No, you're the loser," Jesse snarked back.

"You are."

"No, it's you," Jesse nodded confidently. "Only losers wants to be on the Dark side."

"Excuse me, Mrs. Philips?" Beca immediately spoke up, putting her hand up straight. Jesse was initially confused at her sudden move. He then hurriedly swivelled in his seat, looking front and to his horror, Mrs. Philips was gazing suspiciously at him. Shit. He was in enough trouble with her already.

"Yes?" Mrs. Philips answered.

"Can I change seats please?" Beca asked.

"Is Jesse Swanson bothering you?"

 _Please say no. Please say no._

"Yes."

 _Typical no good, evil Sith._

"Ok. You can change seats," Mrs. Phillips nodded at that lying Sith princess. Her eyes then homed in on Jesse. "As for you Jesse Swanson, see me after class."

* * *

His mom thought they should be neighbourly.

Jesse saw his mum's famous cherry pie cooling on the kitchen counter, the one she made for special occasions and Jesse knew his mom was going over. About an hour later, he was hauled along to visit the new neighbours. Jesse tried to say he had homework to do but his momma was having none of that. He didn't really want to step a foot into that evil place where that evil girl lived. He had to put up with Mrs. Philips lecturing him for ten whole minutes about being nice and welcoming to new students and Jesse was now 100% sure that evil Sith lordling, Beca Mitchell, was sent to torment him. Who knows what her parents would be like?

The door was opened by a man in jeans.

He didn't look like a Sith Lord at all. In fact, he was reminded Jesse of his Maths teacher. His jeans were worn at the knees and he had an ugly brown sweater on with a stiff blue collar poking out of the neck. Jesse's momma was in her element, waving the cherry pie at the man, introducing herself and Jesse as the neighbours next door and welcoming him to the neighbourhood. The man smiled, introducing himself as Dr. Mitchell and then he called out someone. A lady with long brunette hair came up to the door, all smiles and twinkling eyes, and she promptly invited them in. His mom said something along the lines of not wanting to impose but they wouldn't hear of it.

Dr. Mitchell promptly disappeared once they came in and Mrs. Mitchell and his momma were chatting happily away. Jesse had stepped into the hallway in the wake of his mom. It looked like they did some redecorating. While his mom ooh'ed and ahh'd at the exposed wooden floors and dove grey wallpaper, Jesse stood at the bottom of the stairs. Then his scalp began to prickle. He did not need to look up to know someone was standing at the top of the stairs, staring down at him. It was creepy.

"Oh, you have a daughter, don't you?" Jesse heard his momma said. "Jesse mentioned he met your daughter in school. They are in the same class?"

"Yes, she is," Mrs. Mitchell replied. She then hollered up the stairs. "Beca!"

Jesse felt rather than saw the figure at the top of the stairs shrank back, almost like she was about to run away. It was, however, a little too late.

"Beca?" Mrs. Mitchell ducked her head towards the stairs. "There you are! Your friend, Jesse's here. Bring him up to your room. You can show him your Star Wars collection."

"Beca like Star Wars?" his mom piped up in surprise. "Oh my! Jesse's mad about that stuff."

He had tried to hide behind his mom but she had laughed and insisted he followed Beca up to her room. It was probably all of ten minutes but now Jesse understood how Luke Skywalker must have felt going into the cave in Dagobah. Her room was strong with the dark side of the Force and it was also the strangest girl's room had girl cousins - all girls' rooms were pretty much samey. Rainbow colours, unicorns, boyband posters on the wall and lots and lots of stuffed toys. No girls' room should be this dark, have stormtroopers figurines lining the shelves, Death Star blueprint posters on the wall and what looked like the sickest looking, half constructed Lego AT-AT on the table.

Jeez, that AT-AT was amazing.

He would have loved to take a closer look but Jesse knew how the Dark Side worked. It was trying to pull him in. He had to night, as a talisman, Jesse switched on his lightsaber. Safe in his room, he felt assured with the buzz of his lightsaber and the bright blue light lifting up the gloom. It was all going to ok. Light always win, right? He was going to vanquish the evil Dark force living next door. And almost like an answer, the window opposite his room was lit up in red.

* * *

It was his thirteenth birthday and because he was still obsessed, he got to have a Star Wars themed party. He was rocking the Jedi robes. He had his trusty blue lightsaber. He wanted a clip on braid like young Obi Wan Kenobi but his mom put her foot down on that. He did, however get that TIE fighter piñata and Jesse was gleefully hitting it with all his might.

That Beca Mitchell was watching him with daggers in her eyes didn't fazed him one bit. In fact he rather enjoyed that horrified look on her face and how the flimsy fork snapped in her hands. She had came to his party, dressed as a storm trooper and Jesse couldn't help thinking she was far too short to be one.

* * *

In the summer when he was fifteen, Jesse thought the Rebel Alliance needed a base and where better than his tree house? The guys are going to love it. They could hatch plans on how to bring down the evil empire while scoffing snacks all day. They could re-enact fights. Or they could just play with Jesse's growing collection of action figures. But of course the temptation to the dark side was too great.

Seriously? A Death Star tree-house?

Who could resist a Death Star tree-house?

With a working klaxon, no less.

Jesse stared across his backyard at Beca Mitchell standing triumphant. Even over the distance, he could see her smirking. The guys were already running over, eager to clamber up the ladder to Beca Mitchell's Death Star. Jesse didn't blame them. Heck, that treehouse looked supercool. Made his attempt to dress up his with just a Star Alliance flag seemed so puny.

That idiotic Death Star tree-house must have caused a bomb. Something perhaps only a guilty parent would fork out. Oh, Jesse Swanson heard things. He didn't mean to be nosy nor did he mean to eavesdrop; but his mom was a gossip and speak entirely too loud. There was trouble brewing at the Mitchells. There was gossip about Dr. Mitchell coming home far too late or none at all. Of loud fights and Mrs Mitchell going to the supermarket, face a little red and blotchy like she had been crying. But people fought all the time, right? Even adults. Jesse knew that adult relationships are complicated. At least, that was what Grampa told him and Uncle Jack too. His momma and dad fight sometimes but they made up just fine. Dr. and Mrs. Mitchell should be able to work it all out between them, right?

But how about if they don't?

What if things don't work out?

Maybe that was why he found Beca in tears just behind the library the other day.

He didn't exactly found her; and Beca Mitchell will probably denied ever crying. She was a tough Sith after all. He was walking by the building and just happened to see her alone with her back towards him. He was about to shout something rude about Darth Maul but stopped when he noticed her tiny shoulders were shaking. And he thought he heard a sob.

Jesse stood still, watching.

There was no mistaking it was Beca Mitchell. She was dressed in all black and that even more faded Darth Vader backpack was a dead giveaway. She was definitely crying. She had shifted in her seat and he could now see the profile of her face. She was crying quiet tears but her shoulders were racking so hard like she was trying to keep herself from sobbing out loud. He had kept quiet, thinking what he should do next. She might be evil incarnate but she was still human. Well, mostly human right? What with the pale skin and dark hair and tendency to hiss at him when he walked past. He should go over and ask her what was wrong. That seemed to be what friends do.

Then he saw Beca raised her hand, angrily dashing her tears. She was sternly telling herself to stop crying, vehemently wiping her face dry with her sleeve. That made Jesse's heart went out to her all the more. She than bunched her hair up into a ponytail and stood up, gathering her books and files. Jesse shrank further back into the alcove he was hiding in but there was not need. She didn't see him.

The image of Beca crying was in his mind all the way through Science period. She was sat a couple of seats away. He stole a look over but she looked nonplussed. Serene even. Like nothing happened. It was rather strange that he couldn't shake off that image of Beca's tear-stained face out of his mind and Jesse absent mindedly sketched an X-wing fighter during class. Of course, he had to embellish it with proton torpedoes all heading towards an exploding TIE fighter. He was quite proud of of the drawing. The X-wing fighter looked ace. And because he was such an ass, Jesse folded the drawing and asked Derek to pass it over to Beca Mitchell.

The look on her face as she unfolded the paper was priceless.

Quiet fury would describe it.

She glanced over, the familiar daggers in her eyes heading his way and he couldn't help doing an explosion gesture with his hands and giving Beca an insufferable smirk. Yeah he was a jerk. But him being one seemed to pay dividends because Beca Mitchell squinted dangerously at him and slowly and deliberately, crumpled the paper in her hand. They were on familiar ground now. He thought she was evil. She hated his guts. And maybe, just maybe her hatred for all things on Light might take her mind off other dark stuff going on in her life.

* * *

He got the new PlayStation for his sixteenth birthday and Jesse could not wait to play the new Star Wars Battlefront game.

His dad has said if he wanted extra games, he had to work for it and Jesse had carefully saved all his paper round, car wash and lawn mowing money to get the game as soon as it came out. He was dying to play it but his siblings were useless. So were the guys he hung round with. At this age, they were more into girls and other lame stuff like that. Not that he wasn't interested but this was THE new Star Wars Battlefront game after all. An awesome game like that needed to be played immediately. He had tried playing it alone but it was no good. The whole set-up was crying out for with someone else. Jesse tapped a finger against his phone, thinking, and then quickly typed out a text.

 _Got the new Star Wars game._

Before he could think about it too much, he sent it. Jesse sat back into the sofa, smirking to himself. She would answer, right? But as the seconds ticked by which turned into minutes, Jesse wasn't so sure. He didn't call or text her before. He just happened to have her number on his phone from the class list. She might not even know it was him. What was he thinking?

Then his phone beeped.

 _Dude, why should I care?_

 _You should_ \- he texted back _\- I could beat your sorry imperial ass. You won't last five seconds._

 _Don't talk about my ass_ \- came the reply.

Jesse was about to apologise. Because he was brought up nicely and really why was he talking smack like that to a girl? Even though she was from the Dark side.

 _Think you can beat me, huh?_ \- came the text from Beca - _You should be so lucky._

She came over. The front doorbell rang and there was Beca Mitchell in her trademark ponytail and black clothes. There was not much pre-amble. Just Jesse tipping his head towards the basement where the games room was and when she followed him, he curtly pointed to the other end of the sofa and the controls on the table in front. They were about to launch into the game when Jesse's mom popped her head round the door.

"Kids, do you want any snacks?" she yelled. "I got mini pizzas in the oven."

"Mummmm -" Jesse whined. "We were just about to start."

Seriously, how did she even know Beca was here? They went straight to the basement from the front door.

"Jesse, where's your manners?" Mrs. Swanson barked at her eldest son. "You didn't even get Beca a soda. Go get Beca a soda."

He reluctantly asked Beca what she liked. Jesse thought he saw the corners of her mouth twitching but she must have bit down that smile. She wanted Sprite and he got a cold can out of the fridge. Of course his mom thought he should bring it down in a tray with a glass full of ice. Jesse would roll his eyes at his mom but he knew that will probably earn him a clip round the back of his neck. His mom also insisted he brought down piping the hot mini pizzas.

"Soda. Snacks," Jesse spoke up, placing the tray on the table. Beca nodded, eyes on the tv and Jesse realised she was already playing the game. "Hey, did you just start? That's not fair!"

"You're cheating!" Jesse yelled in panic, scrambling to his seat and picking up his controls.

She was trying to get ahead. That was why she started the game without him.

Typical cunning Dark side.

Not that it mattered, anyway. She lost badly that round. And the next one. And the next one after that. She lost like five times in a row. He was crowing. Of course the Jedi won. The Force was strong in him. He could take the Dark side anytime and whooped its ass. Like everyday of the week.

But Jesse had to give it to her. Anyone else would have throw down the controls in disgust especially with all the annoying showboating he was doing. But Beca just glared at him, controls in her hands. "Rematch" she would spat out, ready to do battle again. No matter how many times he trashed her, she came right back. She just kept coming right back. And despite his apparent hatred for all things in the Dark side, Jesse Swanson was actually rather impressed. It was certainly not easy to keep Beca Mitchell down.

Usually she would leave after all the mini pizzas were gone. She was polite enough to insist bringing the empty plate and soda can up to the kitchen and cleaning up. She thanked his mom very nicely, sometimes staying longer to have a conversation with her.

Huh.

It seemed like the Dark Side did have some manners after all.

* * *

The next week it was the same. She would saunter in and they will play whichever game but they will always go back to Star Wars. Jesse had put up a scoreboard on one of the walls, gleefully stacking up his wins and her losses. She would swear, of course. Jesse didn't know any other girl who could cuss as hard as her. He was sure he didn't know what half of the words meant.

He couldn't quite figure out why she would come back week after week to only get trounced. But Jesse wasn't complaining. He was enjoying it actually. It was not until he ran into Beca's mom did he found out why. Jesse had to do a quick trip to the supermarket to get some popcorn when he ran into Mrs. Mitchell. Well, technically not Mrs. Mitchell now. He heard (from his momma, of course) Dr. and Mrs. Mitchell were separated and Dr. Mitchell moved out. Apparently divorce was in the cards. Jesse didn't know for sure. Beca didn't talk about it much and he didn't ask. They didn't really talk much at all.

He was about to slope away towards the cashier, basket in hand, when Beca's mom called out to him. He was raised right so Jesse Swanson turned round with a smile on his face and said hello.

"Jesse, I'm so glad I ran into you," Mrs. Mitchell said, edging her trolley closer. She was thinner than he remembered. She was smiling at him but even at his young age, Jesse could figure out that smile was not a cheerful one. "I was trying to figure out how I could speak to you without it being awkward."

Jesse didn't have a clue what Mrs. Mitchell was referring to, so yeah this was already awkward.

"I just wanted to say thank you," Mrs. Mitchell continued.

Nope, still not a clue.

"- for inviting Beca over all the time."

Oh.

"She's been moping a lot and going over to your place brings her out of the house. Thank you. I really appreciate that."

He didn't recall what he said in answer. Perhaps some non-committal words like _'No problem. Mrs. Mitchell'_ or something polite like that. But what Jesse recalled was what Mrs. Mitchell said next.

"Beca is going through a rough time at the moment and I think she's ...finding it hard to talk to us'" Mrs. Mitchell spoke up hesitatingly. "Thank you so much for being there for her, Jesse. It's really good to know she has a friend."

* * *

The next time Beca was over, he tried to let her win.

Maybe that would make her feel a bit better. He should have known she would twig that was what he was doing. The controller came flying straight at his head. Good hing he had quick reflexes and ducked. The next thing he knew Beca Mitchell had launched herself across the great divide they maintained on the sofa. If he had thought Beca Mitchell was prickly before, Jesse obviously haven't seen her unleashed the whole might of the Dark Side. She was actually pummelling his side and ow, her tiny fists actually hurt.

"Oh my god, stop!" Jesse yelled, "You're hurting me."

"Did that hurt?" she barked. "Good!"

She let fly a left hook and Jesse swiftly shifted aside, letting her fall forward with her own momentum. He didn't really want to fight back. She was still tiny and delicate . He didn't want to harm her but that left hook was too far. He had to stop her somehow. She was coming back right up, probably trying to get a few more punches so Jesse quickly wrapping his hands around her, pinning her arms on her sides.

"Let me go!" she spat out, struggling against his hold.

"Not until you stop hitting me."

"No."

"God, you are such a child! Stop it."

"No, you stop it!"

"Me?" Jesse said. "What did I do?"

"You let me win."

"What?" Jesse replied. "No, I didn't."

"You did!" she spat like an angry ferret. "You let me fucking win. It's a fucking straight shot and you didn't even take it."

"Will you calm down?" Jesse shouted back. "The stupid thing was not working. Or my thumb must have slipped."

He was never any good at lying and the fury that was Beca Mitchell rained on him again and this time, she kicked him in the shin.

"Ow! Fuck!" Jesse yelped and he let her go. "Ok. Fine! I let you win."

She had scuttled backwards towards her end of the sofa, cursing under her breath. He scowled at her and rubbed his throbbing shin. What the hell? It bloody hurt where she kicked him. Those clodhoppers that she was fond of wearing on her feet must have metal heels or something. He rolled up the leg of his sweatpants, taking a look at the damage Beca Mitchell had done. Great. There would be a huge bruise.

"Why?"

Jesse looked up to find her eyeing him warily.

"Why what?"

"Why you let me win?"

Without a word, Jesse gestured at the pitiful looking paper pinned on the wall. It was coming down on one corner where the drawing pin had fallen off but there was no mistaking the towering tally of wins on Jesse's side. Beca's eyes followed where he was pointing at and she looked momentarily confused.

"I thought a win might cheer you up," he shrugged.

That seemed to take the wind out of her sails. For the second time since he knew her, Jesse saw how vulnerable the Sith princess could look. It was a shadow on her face which reminded him of that time he saw her crying behind the library. And just like that time, she recovered in a flash, turning away from him, tucking herself into the corner of the sofa, making herself as small as possible. Which was pretty small.

They sat in silence with only the hum of the suspended game on the tv. Jesse was still rubbing that sore spot where she kicked him and she was still tucked at the other end of the sofa, now biting her nails.

"Wanna talk about it?" Jesse spoke up first.

It took a long while before a croak came from her side.

"Talk about what?"

Jesse leaned forward to pick up the controls, careful not to look at her. He pressed a few buttons loading a fresh game.

"Nothing,'" he answered, eyes fixed on the TV. "Everything. I dunno. Whatever you want to talk about."

He heard her snort and out of the corner of his eye, he saw her picked up the control and joined the game.

"You're not making any sense." She shook her head, peppering shots at him on screen. "Just play the fucking game, will you? I don't need any pity shots."

"What I'm trying to say is -" Jesse answered, ducking from the hail of fire and lobbing a few incendiary devices her way. "- if you ever wanna talk, I'm here."

Beca Mitchell was not the type to talk unnecessarily plus she was busy trying to stay alive in the game. Jesse was not surprised when she didn't say anything back.

* * *

She never really talked to him about her parents' divorce.

At least not directly.

Jesse remembered that much.

It must have hurt and she must have been really sad because for a while, Beca stopped coming over. Jesse realised that he couldn't pushed her to open up. He didn't have a death wish. Forcing Beca Mitchell to do things she didn't want to do was a certain passport to harm. It would have to look like it was her idea.

He still see her around school and during one of the classes they had together, he had tossed a note on her desk. She had glowered at the offensive piece of paper folded like an x-wing fighter and then up at him but Jesse stood his ground. He waited for her to reach for the paper, gingerly holding it by the ends like it might burn her and then read the note. Her blue eyes flew across, reading what he wrote. Jesse knew she couldn't refuse the challenge he issued. Star Wars marathon Episode I - VI; dress-up encouraged, popcorn optional. Loser was the one who doze off first and have to do the other person's chores.

"Yeah, ok" she mumbled before crushing that note in her hand.

They argued and bickered throughout the whole marathon so yeah, they didn't exactly talk about her parents' divorce. But it was a start. And when they moved to talking about other things in the Star Wars universe, especially about this whole absent father figure thing, Jesse thought they were getting somewhere.

* * *

She finally trashed him soundly in one of their game nights.

It was a matter of time, really. She was seriously getting better. He didn't budge an inch nor did his hand slipped at the controls. She played so well that it made him sweat. Jesse was cursing hard as he desperately tried to tip the battle to his favour and failing miserably. All the while, Beca Mitchell was cackling wickedly beside him, sweet victory in sight. And when he finally lost, Jesse yelped out 'Noooooo!' and threw his controls in a fit of rage. Meanwhile, Beca Mitchell was whooping loudly beside him.

"In your face! In your face, Jedi!" she yelled, thrusting the palms of her hands, literally in his face. "Feel the power of the Dark side."

Jesse scowled as she went over to the wall and gleefully made a notch on their yellowing tally chart. Her winning score still looked pathetic next to his and seriously, she had to win like the next hundred games to be on par but she was already doing a few victory laps round the sofa, culminating by what could only be described as an awkward dorky shuffle of a winning dance in front of him. And watching the happiness on his nemesis' face, Jesse Swanson felt a curious, warm jolt in his chest.


	2. Chapter 2

**Part II**

Junior year was pretty awesome.

He got his driving licence and his first car. School was going well and he finally got the spot in the first team. Jesse was very proud of that. He had worked so hard for it and he was not going to lie - being on the first team was pretty sweet. The ladies seem to like it and Jesse was hoping to impress Emma, the cute blonde cheerleader who he caught smiling at him a couple of times.

It felt like the whole town turned out for the game. Jesse wouldn't be surprised if they did - his momma had been very vocal about her precious Jesse playing in the big game. Even Beca Mitchell turned out and that was saying something. They were still best enemies and their pranks on each other were getting more and more ludicrous. He should have known the evil Sith had something up her sleeve. Beca Mitchell did not turn up to football games. She just didn't. But Jesse Swanson was far too busy getting his head into the game to look out for red flags like that.

They were up. He was up. Coach had given them the play and the pep talk and it was time. Except when he went to the bench and reached for his helmet, it was not there. His football helmet was not there. There was only a lone Stormtrooper helmet left.

A stormtrooper helmet.

A freaking, white stormtrooper helmet.

Jesse's mouth dropped open and when he looked up at the stands with that nasty thing in his hand, there was Beca Mitchell with an evil smirk on her face. Coach was almost puce that Jesse was still standing around looking lost, stupidly clutching onto that Stormtrooper helmet. His ears was nearly singed off by the expletives Coach was shouting at him and Jesse seriously thought Coach would have a coronary. Thank god, his helmet was miraculously found near the water bucket and it all turned out ok.

But that prank she pulled nearly caused him the game. He could have been kicked off the team. Oh, he definitely got his own back. Oh yeah. He bode his time, waiting for the perfect moment to get back at her. Revenge was a dish that was best served cold.

And cold it was.

Winter was fierce and that year and they got record snowfall. He knew his nemesis' schedule by heart. She could not afford to be late that day. She just landed this new job at Alderman's, the big department store at the mall, it was her first day and she wanted to make a good impression. Jesse also knew Beca and to rush back home first before heading to the mall. Time would be tight.

And when Beca Mitchell went to her car, she saw what Jesse Swanson had left for her.

Jesse stood by his car, gleefully watching Beca Mitchell standing frozen by hers. Yep, took him the better part of an hour with help of his two buddies to shovel that much snow on top of her car. There was no way she could get into the car nor move it without having to remove all that white stuff. But it was not the snow that would punch Beca Mitchell in the gut. It was the huge R2D2 sculpted out of the snow. Ha! Take that evil Sith. See how long it would take to scrape that thing off.

She turned sharply towards him and even in the freezing temperature, Jesse could feel the hot hate burning off her. And he felt very warm with it as he smirked at Beca Mitchell and stepped into his car.

* * *

Sometimes they did call a truce. Like when Episode VII came out during their senior year.

Jesse had never been this excited about a movie before. Seriously, since the trailer dropped nearly a year before, he could not stop thinking about the new Star Wars movie. Ok, the prequels were terrible. He got to admit that with hindsight, but it did not dampen his excitement over Episode VII. There were so many discussions online, possible plots to ponder and Jesse couldn't wait to watch it. His friends were excited to catch the movie too. It was THE movie of the year but they were not really interested to catch the first showing.

Except for Beca, of course.

He could always depend on Beca.

She was playing it cool but Jesse knew his little weirdo next door. She would go to the ends of the earth to be the first person in the queue to watch the new movie. They got tickets and he was seriously wondering whether they should come in costume. Beca vetoed that idea and now standing in the lobby of the multiplex cinema, Jesse was glad of that. He was hanging round waiting for Beca to get the popcorn when he heard his name being called, followed by a chorus of giggles. He turned round and found it was Emma, surrounded by her friends.

"HiJesse," the blonde cheerleader trilled, smiling at him.

He tried saying hi back but fumbled his words, suddenly a little shy now. The girls started giggling again, making him blush every more but Emma hushed them all up. He croaked a 'hi' back finally and knew he was probably grinning at Emma like an idiot. Strangely, the blonde didn't turn around and run away. In fact, she was still talking to him.

She looked really pretty under the cineplex lights. All shiny blonde hair and pink skin. He could stay here all night just staring at her. Jesse then realised she was looking expectantly at him, like she was waiting for him to say something and he finally found his voice back.

"So.. are you here for Star Wars?"

"Euww no,'' she screwed up her cute button nose. "Is it the one with all the space and robots and stuff?"

"Yeah," Jesse grinned. "That's the one."

"Is that why there are so many weird people in this place tonight?" Emma said, looking around at the diehard fans dressed up in costumes. "Can't understand why anyone would like that stuff. It's pretty lame."

"Yeah.." Jesse agreed. "….lame."

An older Jesse would be ashamed of this young Jesse but he would have understood. It was the hormones. This cute girl with the nice smile, the blonde hair she kept flipping over her shoulder and her tight top and skirt was finally having a conversation with him and really, Jesse would have agreed to anything as long as she kept on talking.

"Did I see you queueing up with Beca just now?"

"What?" Jesse replied, coming out of his daze. "Oh, you saw that? Yeah, she's a big Star Wars fan." He nervously tugged at his collar. "We are neighbours. She wanted to watch the movie so bad and I'm...I'm just here to make sure she gets home safely later on. Her mom asked me to."

"Aww, that is so sweet of you!" Emma gushed.

Yes! She bought that. Thank goodness she bought that pathetic excuse he just came up with.

"We just watched Flocking Seagulls," she continued. "I've watched it when it first came out and it's awesome."

"Whoa, so this is your second time?" Jesse asked.

"No, silly! This would be my third!"

Jesse glanced at the poster of the latest romcom Emma was referring to. It starred that good looking actor in that weird high school musical and the poster was all him staring broodily into the distance. It all looked a little soppy and Jesse was unsure why anyone want to watch that movie more than once.

"Ok," he nodded. "I need to check it out next time."

"Umm..if you want to see that film-" Emma was saying now. "- why don't you gimme a call? I don't mind watching it again."

"Yeah? " Jesse smiled, not entirely believing his luck.

"Yep," Emma smiled back at him. "Next Saturday's cool."

Jesse remembered that was when Beca and him were going to Comicon about an hour drive away. They always try to do one a year and had booked tickets months go. She wouldn't skipping one, surely? She was always complaining the programmes were getting too predictable and there were no good guests.

"Sure." Jesse eagerly replied. "Next Saturday it is. I'll get the tickets and maybe we can have something to eat?"

"It's a date."

"Cool. I'll ring you."

Emma and her posse walked away in a cloud of giggles and Jesse watched them go. He didn't even realised that Beca was standing beside him holding the popcorn until she spoke up.

"What did she want?"

Jesse nearly jumped out of his skin. He then began to flush.

"Oh. Nothing. We just talked."

Beca was staring at him like he sprouted a second head.

"Trailers about to start," she said. "We should find our seats."

"In a minute." Jesse replied.

His eyes had swivelled back to the blonde cheerleader walking away in her short, short skirt. She stopped and turned, smiling and waggling her fingers goodbye at him. Jesse started to wave back but when he saw Beca raising her eyebrows, he hurriedly ran his hand into his hair to hide that limp wave. As soon as Emma and her posse disappeared from view, he dashed across the lobby towards their movie screening, pulling Beca in tow. They were hardly in their seats when Jesse broke the news.

"I got a date," Jesse grinned.

"With whom?"

"With Emma," Jesse answered excitedly. "I don't know how it happened. We were just talking and she said if I want to go to a movie, she's free and now we're going out on Saturday."

"This Saturday?" Beca frowned, adjusting the huge bucket of popcorn on her lap.

"No, the next one," Jesse nodded. "Umm…you don't mind me bailing out on Comicon, do you? I mean, we've been a bunch of times and it's not like anything is new."

Beca didn't answer. She searched his face for a long momentand then turned her eyes towards the screen, her hand digging into the warm popcorn.

"Do what you want," she mumbled through the mouthful of popcorn. "It's your Saturday."

"Thanks," Jesse beamed happily, settling into his seat.

Of course, he totally missed the look on her face. Years later, Jesse would realise that when Beca Mitchell was nonchalant about something, that was when it mattered to her the most. But young Jesse was far too oblivious and excited. This movie was going to be awesome. His upcoming date with Emma would be even more awesome. Jesse felt like all his Christmases were coming all at once.

"I never really thought she was your type," Jesse heard Beca speaking up beside him.

"She's cute -" he replied, eyes fixedon the ads onscreen. "- cute is totally my type."

"You are so shallow," she muttered back.

"Aw come on, Bec. You should be happy for me," Jesse answered. "I am finally going out on a date. A real date. With a real girl. "

Beca frowned. "But you go out with me all the time."

"And?" Jesse reached out to grab some popcorn from the bucket on her lap.

"I'M a girl."

"Nah…you are...you." Jesse shook his head, chewing on the popcorn. "It doesn't count."

Jesse heard Beca muttered something under her breath but he was too focused on the trailers onscreen to pay attention. Honestly she was being weird.

"So…" Beca was asking now. " - you bringing her to watch Star Wars? Please tell me you are not going to bore her with your Star Wars fun facts, are you?"

"No," he replied, eyes glued on the screen. "We are watching some movie she liked. She thinks Star Wars kinda lame."

The sharp intake of breath beside him sounded almost painful. The hiss that followed sounded like a nest of snakes. Jesse glanced over to find Beca staring at him.

"I hope you set her straight," Beca said.

He knew he had to tread carefully now. Beca Mitchell would hit him if she knew what he said to Emma just now.

"Come on, Bec." Jesse shifted his eyes away, feeling more than a little guilty. "What did you expect me to say?"

To be honest, he felt a little weird agreeing with Emma, even it it was just to be polite. Star Wars was not lame. Far from it. It had been a big part of his life since he was small. But the giggling girls and the potential of getting a date with a cheerleader in a short skirt was just too much for his hormone-charged teenaged brain. He turned back to watching the trailers and he could feel Beca bristling beside him. She'll settle down - Jesse reasoned - she'll be ok. She was ok with him ditching her for games night, right? She should be ok with him telling a little white lie.

Jesse reached over for the popcorn only to find his fingers grappling into thin air. Beca had shifted the bucket away from his reach. When Jesse nudged her elbow to ask for the popcorn, she didn't move the bucket any closer.

"Get your own popcorn - " she growled. " - you filthy rebel scum."

* * *

He never thought he would see her at a party.

It was Beca Mitchell after all. Parties were fun and Beca Mitchell didn't do fun. As far as he could remember, she never came to any high school parties before. Jesse then realised with a twinge that perhaps it was because no one really invited her. Beca Mitchell could be a little odd and she didn't really fit in - at least, not in the popular high school social circles anyway.

So what was she doing here at Brock Alderman's party?

Brock was the star quarterback, the popular guy, the rich kid whose parents were out of town this weekend. That could only lead to one thing. Booze on tap, loud music from someone's crappy playlist and an invite that went viral. Jesse didn't think Beca would enjoy something like this, let alone get invited yet there she was, standing awkwardly by the beer keg, red solo cup in hand.

"Jay Jay!"

Jesse nearly choked on his beer. No matter how many times his girlfriend said it, he never quite got used to that sickly sweet nickname. Yeah, that date with Emma went well. They had a second one and on the third, he finally plucked up the courage to kiss her. Before he knew it, they were an item and she was parading around in his letter jacket and they were holding hands in the hallway. Jesse thought it all escalated far too quickly.

"Hey Em."

"How's my Jay-jay?" Emma cooed, wrapping her arms around his waist and making him spill his beer. "Enjoying the party?"

Jesse made a non-committal sound because right at that moment, he was frowning over his girlfriend's head, watching Beca Mitchell. He was still trying to work out what was she doing here. There was something else which was odd - Beca was wearing all black but somehow, it looked different? She had this black spaghetti strap top on with black jeans and she let her hair down? Maybe that was it. Her hair was in brown curls around her shoulders, not tied up in a ponytail and wait, was she wearing lipstick?

"This place is huge..." Emma slurred into his neck. "Y'know...If you wanna have some fun, we can go and find a room."

Really, what a novice. She shouldn't stand that close to the keg. That was a high traffic area. Either creepy guys might just hit on her or they were just going to jostle her to get to the beer. See? What did he just said? Those two guys totally barged past her and she had leapt backwards trying to avoid them. She could've fallen over.

"Jesse!?"

"Huh?

Emma's annoyed voice finally got through and Jesse turned his attention back to his girlfriend, who looked majorly pissed right now.

"You didn't hear a word I said!" she pouted. She turned round, doing a suspicious sweep round the room. "What were you looking at?"

"Nothing, babykins" he lied (yeah, Emma insisted on that nickname). "I wasn't looking at anything. Umm...I was just thinking I should get more beer?" Jesse showed her the almost empty cup. "Do you want another one?"

"Euw no!" Emma pulled a face. "Not from the keg. I'll go and get a lite beer from the fridge."

He waited for Emma to leave before heading straight for the keg. Beca was still there, talking to some guy. Jesse hung around, messing with the pump until he cleared off.

"Hey," Jesse called out, catching Beca's eye. "You ok there?"

She just stared blankly at him before taking a long, careful sip of her cup. He was not deterred by that cold wall of evil. Jesse sauntered over, standing close to her. Huh. She was nearly eye to eye with him. Was she wearing heels? And she did something to her make-up. It was making her eyes looked enormous.

"What do you want, nerd?" Jesse heard her asked in an almost bored voice.

"Are you sure you're at the right party?" he said. "Last time I checked this was not an Imperial hoedown."

She just rolled her eyes at him.

"Sith overlords are not allowed in here, you know," he continued, rather smugly. "How did you even get in?"

"This might be too difficult for your pea-brain, Jedi," she finally answered back. "- but I was invited."

"Yeah? By who?" He challenged. Jesse then smirked when she didn't answer. "Did you check your lightsaber at the door, Darth M? We have a strict no-weapons policy in here. Including not using a choke hold."

"I'll choke hold you," Jesse heard her muttered under her breath. He chuckled softly, knowing he was getting to her.

"Seriously, Bec -" he said. "Why are you even here? This is not your scene."

He expected her to spat an insult back at him but Beca took another slug of her beer and looked around the party, a little lost.

"I didn't want to come -" she confessed reluctantly. "- Brock really wanted me to."

"Brock invited you?" Jesse frowned. "How? Did he send a holographic invite via an R2 unit?"

"Don't be stupid. Of course not," Beca snapped back, her eyes flashing. "Brock's not into Star Wars."

"I don't think he is -" Jesse smirked.

"He's a Trekkie."

Ok, she must be drunk. First, she said Brock invited her and now she was saying the quarterback was a Trekkie? Yep. Definitely drunk. He saw Beca topping up her drink from the keg and Jesse immediately reached over to take the cup out of her hands.

"Hey!"Beca yelled. "I was drinking that."

"Not any more. You're cut off." Jesse shook his head. He ignored the angry expletive hurled at him and peered into her face. "How much you had to drink? Can you drive? You know what...never mind, I'll drive you home."

Jesse tugged at her arm, aiming towards the exit. He should have known the evil Sith would not come so easily. Beca was twisting away and glaring angrily at him.

"Cut that out!" she said. "Why are you being such a buckethead?"

"Bec, you've been talking nonsense since just now," Jesse sighed. "Clearly, you are drunk. Come on. Let's get you home."

"I'm not drunk." she insisted. "And even if I am, why should you care? You're not my boyfriend!' Her eyes then shifted above his shoulder. "Here he is now."

Oh god, she was SO drunk she's tripping now. Jesse was about to take her arm again and gently persuade her to come with him when a tall shadow loomed over them. He turned to find Brock next to him. Jesse was about to say 'hi' but Brock didn't stop. The blonde quarterback actually kept on moving. Towards Beca. And...

What the hell? What was happening?

They were kissing?

* * *

Well, she was a dark horse.

Jesse had stood dumbfounded as Brock had his massive hands round Beca's small waist, almost picking her up from the floor while he kissed her. She had her arms wrapped tight round his neck. It was not just a quick, chaste kiss either. They were practically playing tonsil hockey, totally unaware of their surroundings. Their bodies were flushed together and ok...now it was getting weird that he was staring at the both of them.

"Where've you been?" Jesse heard Brock whispering huskily when they finally came up for air. "I've been looking all over for you."

"Beer," Beca replied in between kisses. "I went to get some beer."

"Mmm. You taste good."

Jesse quickly cleared his throat That worked because the two lovebirds sprang apart and Beca self-consciously wiped her mouth. Jesse was finding it hard not to stare but damn it, how can Brock still look cool with remnants of Beca's lipstick on his mouth? He also had his arm wrapped around Beca's shoulders when he tipped his head towards Jesse.

"Hey Jess. Having a good time?"

 _Not as much as you_ \- Jesse sourly thought.

"Yeah," he replied instead "It's..it's a great party."

"Hang on, aren't you Beca's next door neighbour?" Brock said. "She talks a lot abut you."

"Yeah, we are." Jesse nodded. "It's getting a bit late. I was just about to drive Beca home."

"Aww, you going home?" Brock asked Beca. "You're not going home yet, are you? It's still early."

He nuzzled his nose into the top of Beca's head and she did one thing that Jesse had not seen before in all the years he had known Beca Mitchell. She giggled. The Sith Princess. The Empress of evil. Wielder of the power of the Dark. That Beca Mitchell. Giggled.

"No," she now breathlessly answered back, eyes only for the handsome Brock Alderman. "Of course not."

And there they go swapping spit again. Seriously? Couldn't they just get a room? All that PDA was uncomfortable to watch and made his beer taste bad.I t took a loud crash that sounded like a window breaking in the next room, followed by loud whoops and cheers, for all that PDA to stop.

"I'm going to check that out," Jesse heard Brock said to Beca. "You'll be ok here?"

"Yeah," she answered, smiling up to Brock. "I'm not going anywhere."

* * *

Ok, this shouldn't surprised him. She was a Sith after all and they are known to be conniving and cunning. Jesse stared at Beca nonchalantly straightened her top and ran her hand through her hair. She was now searching for an empty cup, looking like she didn't have a care in the world and when she found one, Beca stepped up to the keg to fill her cup with beer.

"So…" Jesse cleared his throat. "You and Brock?"

"Yeah," she answered.

"How long?'

She shrugged, concentrating on the drink. "A couple of months."

"A couple of months?" Jesse echoed her words in surprise. "And you didn't tell me?"

"It was nothing." She gave him another one of those infuriating shrugs. "I worked at his dad's store. He sometimes comes in to stack boxes and do inventory. We just talk."

"You just talk?" Jesse's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "It didn't look like you just talk."

"Oh yeah. That.." She looked a trifle embarrassed and didn't look at him. "We didn't really hit it off until we went to Comicon together."

"You went to Comicon with Brock Alderman?" Jesse yelled out.

"Shhh!" Beca swiftly shushed him. "Why are you yelling? Can't you keep your voice down?" She consciously looked around before turning back to Jesse. "We just happened to talk about it. He was trying to get a ticket. It was all sold out. I had an extra one. So..."

This was ludicrous. There must be some mistake. Why would Brock Alderman go to Comicon with Beca? It just didn't add up. Unless… Ah, he got it now.

"Ok, I'm on to you," Jesse spoke up, more than a little smug. Beca was eyeing him and he had to admit the Sith did looked bewildered at what he just said. "You are up to something."

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"Clearly, you are plotting a major Sith prank right about now," Jesse confidently said.

Beca's mouth had fell open. Aha, she was really getting really good at acting surprised.

"How.." she stuttered. "What…"

"And that thing about having an extra ticket? Genius." Jesse pretended to look impressed. "But who buys extra tickets to Comicon, huh? Those things are expensive."

"It was YOUR ticket, you Tauntaun fucker!" Beca hissed out loud. "You ditch me to go on that date with Emma, remember?"

Oh. Yeah. That.

Jesse saw Beca moving away and he followed her.

"Ok, so you both went to Comicon -" he spoke up behind her. " - and now you are dating?"

"Yes." came the curt reply. Beca then stopped in her tracks and spun round to face him. "I should thank you, really. If you hadn't gone on that date with Emma, I wouldn't have gone to Comicon with Brock."

"This is all very sudden,"Jesse remarked doubtfully. "Are you sure you are even dating?"

"Yep, I am pretty sure we are," Beca frowned at him. "I find your lack of faith disturbing, Jesse Swanson. Why is this so hard for you to understand?"

He made a face. "It's just - well, y'know…"

"No, I don't know." Beca crossed her arms over her chest. "Care to tell me?"

Her voice was getting menacingly low. He should have sensed the danger in her tone but all that beer must have dulled his Jedi senses and Jesse Swanson bumbled on.

"Well, it's just - I don't see how Brock would go out with you." Jesse dug himself deeper into the hole. "Look, Bec. On some days, yeah, you can look pretty and I'm sure there are guys out there who might dig your whole -" he gestured with his hands. "- vibe. But this is Brock Alderman."

"And?"

"And it doesn't add up," Jesse nodded confidently. "- which made me think this is all some sort of high level prank you are doing on me -"

"Yes -" Beca rolled her eyes. " - of course this is all about you."

" - I don't know how you pull it off, getting Brock to throw this party and then pretend to be your boyfriend," Jesse ploughed on. "Maybe all that face mashing and butt grabbing was an incentive?"

"Stop -" Beca held up her hand and Jesse's speech juddered to a halt. "Just stop. Before you lose your balls tonight."

Her eyes were hard like agates and for a moment, Jesse felt his collar getting a little tight. She was not using the choke hold, was she? The choking thing was not real, was it?

"I think I get what you are saying," she said. "Brock is the quarterback. The most popular guy in school. He should be dating a cute cheerleader, right? Someone tall and pretty, preferably blonde? One of the popular girls in school. Possibly prom queen material?"

"Yeah," Jesse grinned, relieved she read his mind. That would make everything much easier. He felt mean if he needed to spell it all out.

"He shouldn't be dating short weird girls, from the Dark side, with a scary ear spike and a tattoo?"

"Well…no." Jesse answered. "It doesn't work that way - Wait. You have a tattoo?"

Beca made an exasperated sound in her throat.

"Well, newsflash, big guy," Beca lashed out angrily. "Just because you don't notice me as a girl and don't find me attractive, doesn't mean everyone else think that way."

"What are you talking about?" Jesse frowned. "You are not making sense."

"And do you really think the only reason Brock might go out with me is because I put out?"

"I didn't say that!" Jesse shook his head.

"No, that's what you just said just now. There was no way Brock Alderman could ever, ever go out with a girl like me, " Beca spat out. "And if he did, it was probably because I let him grab by ass."

"I'm just saying -"

He didn't managed to finish the sentence because the next moment, Beca Mitchell threw her solo cup at him and Jesse Swanson found himself with a face full of beer.

* * *

 **AN :** _Thank you so much for your reads, reviews and follows. I hope this is not a too shabby part II._


	3. Chapter 3

**Part III**

 _I'm sorry._

 _I'm a dick._

Jesse stared at what he had typed into his phone, rubbed his face with one hand and then promptly deleted it. He felt like tossing his phone away. It must be the tenth time he had started a text only to erase the whole lot.

 _I was drunk._

 _I didn't mean what I said. Brock is lucky to go out with you._

 _Hey, does Darth Vader have bad breath? He wears that helmet all the time._

Jesse had typed all those lame apologies and deleted them again.

Shit.

It shouldn't be this hard to apologise to Beca Mitchell. It shouldn't be this hard to him to just say sorry and they could go back to where they were. They had been frenemies for so long. They had played ludicrous, over-the-top pranks on each other many, many times that 'sorry' didn't seem to be necessary anymore. They just get even on the next prank. That was the unspoken rule.

Except maybe this time, Jesse Swanson felt that it might be different. He sensed that perhaps this time, he had really crossed the line and had really hurt her feelings.

Huh.

Who would have thought the Sith princess would have them?

He surreptitiously glanced across the cafeteria. It was lunch time and he was sat at the football jocks table while Beca Mitchell sat in her usual spot, all alone. She was frowning over her lunch, slowly picking out the tomatoes from the opened sandwich. Jesse had to smile when he saw that. Beca hated tomatoes. She said they were icky and evil and that they couldn't even decide whether to be a vegetable or a fruit. He had always thought she was being overdramatic about the whole tomato thing but right now, Jesse would happily listen to her grumbling. They hadn't spoken in weeks. He hated to admit it but he sort of missed her evil Sith grumpiness.

After she tossed that cup of beer at him, Beca had stormed off and Jesse had stood stock still with his shirt and face drenched with beer. His initial reaction had been shock, then disbelief and then after that, sheer panic.

Not because he thought beefcake Brock might do a number on him for harassing his girlfriend but because Beca Mitchell might come back and made good her promise about him losing his balls.

Stupidly he decided not to go after her. He should have. Jesse knew that now. He didn't quite know what happened afterwards. He must have gone back to drinking and then passed out because Jesse woke up in the morning with someone else's oversized shirt on, his face was squashed against the back of the sofa and he was also spooning a table lamp. It was only over the days that followed, when Beca refused to answer any of his texts or talk to him that Jesse realised what a dick he had been.

Yep, Beca Mitchell was indeed going out with Brock Alderman. The cheerleading squad confirmed it. Emma confirmed it, pulling a little face as she did so. Apparently, quite a few girls were disappointed. They had hoped to snag the star player for prom at least and now the quarterback was going out with that weird, alt girl. The whole thing was legit - she wasn't trying to pull a Sith prank on him and yes, she was telling the truth. Jesse felt all kinds of stupid and he didn't quite know what to do next.

They were just a few tables away, right here right now, but it might as well be an abyss between them.

 _Can we talk?_ \- he now typed into his phone.

Jesse stared at the latest apology he was trying to write. He heard Emma's voice from behind and quickly shut his phone down. His girlfriend and her posse were now taking their places around the table, lunch trays in hands, chatting about prom dresses or shoes or how to do their hair for prom and what corsage was the best. He didn't really pay attention.

The topic between that clique seemed to revolve around prom recently and he wasn't really interested. He already did his bit in asking Emma to the prom, like all boyfriends do, and that was the sum of his interest. He had his mind on more important things. There were rumours that the new Rogue One trailer would dropped in spring. He wondered whether Beca would know.

The funny thing was he always thought he would ask Beca out for prom. They could dress up in some sort of Star Wars theme outfit and spend the whole night hanging out and not taking the whole thing seriously. The two Star Wars weirdos - that's what everyone would say, but Jesse wouldn't care. It would have been fun.

The crackle over the PA system was announcing some more inane prom stuff when suddenly the Imperial March blared over the air. Jesse nearly spat out his sandwich. It was too much of a coincidence that the familiar tune came up whilst he was thinking about Rogue One. A quick glance around showed he was not the only one surprised. The rest of the cafeteria were rubbernecking it, wondering what was happening and Jesse heard loud gasps as he heard the double doors behind him being thrown wide open.

He turned around.

What the heck?

Why were there four Stormtroopers filing in?

And was that Brock Alderman right in the middle of them?

Of course it was.

Really, it was not that difficult to figure that out, even if the handsome quarteback was sporting a bad brunette wig and stupid Han Solo costume. With impeccable timing, the stormtroopers marched in close formation, urging their captive forward. Jesse watched with the rest of the cafeteria, turning round as the group marched pas and they finally came to a halt in front of Beca Mitchell.

"Your excellency-," one of the stormtroopers addressed Beca, whose jaw was already scrapping the floor. "- ee found one of the Rebels trying to escape via the garbage compactor."

Beca was opening and shutting her mouth wordlessly. It was rare to see the Sith princess that discombobulated.

"Wha.." she managed to squeak out in surprise. Beca then turned to the the bogus Han Solo in confusion. "Brock? What the hell is happening?"

And then that stupid oaf stepped forward, only to go down on bended knee.

"Beca Mitchell -" he said, grinning up at her. "I might not be the droid that you are looking for but would you still go to prom with me? I don't really want to go…solo."

Fucking hell. Of course Brock Alderman would go the extra mile, hire stormtroopers, got dressed up and then say the perfect lines. If that was not the most perfect promposal to melt that Dark Sith cold, cold heart, Jesse didn't know what will.

There was that beat of suspended breath in the cafeteria as all eyes swivelled to Beca Mitchell. She had leapt up to her feet, her hands covering her mouth; and when she let them dropped to her sides, Bec said something out loud. Something guttural and alien and strange. Something that didn't sound human at all; and yet Brock was staring up at her in disbelief and shining eyes and then he stood up to hug her tight.

"You said yes in Klingon!" he gushed. "Oh my god, you learnt to speak Klingon?" He kissed her hard and then draw back. "When did you do this?"

See?

Fucking perfect.

And now Jesse Swanson just wanted to fling his lunch tray across the room.

* * *

It was her birthday.

Prom night was Beca Mitchell's birthday.

Jesse was wondering whether he was being daft, standing on his porch in his rented tux and staring across the yard to Beca's house. The time on his phone was telling the limo few of them had rented would be here in fifteen minutes and he would need to pick up Emma soon. Before they had that falling out, Jesse had already got a present for Beca. He did not know what to do with it now. No doubt her boyfriend would probably got her something a hundred times better than the little trinket he got nervously played with the small, wrapped box he had in his hand.

"Fuck it," Jesse mumbled to himself and then launched himself across the yard towards Beca's house.

Her mom was a little surprised to see him. Of course, she was expecting someone else in a tux at her doorway asking for Beca, not Jesse Swanson the boy next door and douchey friend. After Jesse explained he just wanted to speak to Beca for a minute, the older lady hollered up the stairs. Beca's mom asked him in and she gave Jesse a quick smile before leaving him standing idly in the familiar hallway.

"Jesse?" he hear Beca's voice from the stairs.

He looked up. And Jesse stared at the sight of Beca Mitchell coming down the stairs in her prom dress. She was still fixing her earrings, tossing her curled hair back over her shoulders. Her dress was red. And black, of course. A full length gown that swished as she took the stairs down, the soft material clinging to her tiny, yet perfect curves. Jesse blinked slowly, trying to take in what he was seeing. She always looked good in black. The colour only accentuate how place and creamy her skin was.

Ok, he was wrong.

So, so wrong.

At the party, he said stupid things like on some days Beca _could_ look pretty and some guys might find Beca Mitchell attractive. He must have been fucking blind. Because standing in front of him now, Beca Mitchell looked absolutely stunning. The surprise made his throat seized up.

"What's up, dude?" she casually asked, only to be met by silence on Jesse's part. Beca stared at him, perplexed and Jesse was valiantly trying to say something. Anything. Really, at this point, anything would be good.

"Huargghhh" Jesse managed to spit out.

Beca's mouth twitched.

"I'm not C3PO," she smirked. "I don't understand Wookie."

Jesse cleared his throat twice and his arm shot out, a small box in the palm of his hand.

"Present." Jesse croaked out. Ok, that sounded less Wookie and more human male. "Happy Birthday,"

Beca stared at the box and glanced up at Jesse, looking adorably confused. It was obvious she wasn't really expecting this.

"Here. Take it," Jesse offered. He was not very good at wrapping presents and had clumsily wrapped the box in some black tissue paper and some gold ribbon. "It's prom and everything, and I don't want to forget to give it to you."

She reached over and took it out of his hand. Jesse watched as she slowly picked off the ribbon and paper. She opened the lid and nestled inside the box was an acrylic laser-cut of an unfinished Death Star, set as a brooch. It wasn't very big - maybe about three inches across but it was handmade. The person who did it had put in a lot of detail. Beca's mouth opened in surprise.

"You got this?" she said. "For me?"

"Yeah," he replied, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's nothing, really. I saw it online like months ago and thought you might like it."

Her eyes were huge as she stared up at Jesse and then down at the box again. She gently lifted the trinket out of the box and slowly turned the brooch in her hand. She was marvelling at the tiny details and now her fingers were working the clasp and trying to pin the trinket to her dress.

"You want to wear it now?" Jesse said, a little surprised.

"Yes. Why not?"

"You might ruin your dress."

"I don't care."

She was all thumbs. Jesse stepped forward, his fingers stilling hers and he carefully put the brooch on, taking care not to jab her with the sharp end. It looked out of place against her prom dress but Beca didn't seem to mind.

"It's awesome," Beca said, turning the brooch up for a closer look. "Thank you." She grinned up at him and then her expression changed to slightly sheepish. "Umm...I actually have something for you too. Hang on."

She disappeared and when Beca came back, she pressed a small white box into Jesse's hand.

"What's this?" he asked in surprise.

"Open it."

When he did, it was Jesse's turn to huff out in surprise.

The plain white box contained a pair of cufflinks.

Not just any other cufflinks.

A sterling silver pair with the Star Alliance emblem on them. He knew where they came from. They had wandered round in the mall about a year back and saw it in one of the shops. He had said how cool they were and dithered whether he should get them. When he came back again a couple of weeks later, the pair was sold and it was the last one. Jesse had been a little bummed he didn't get them earlier.

"Wow. Bec, they are..." Jesse stuttered, still trying to take in how amazing the present was. She remembered. Jesse was gobsmacked she remembered and actually got them. "Oh my god. I wanted these! Where did you get them?"

"I searched for them online," Beca answered, giving him a lopsided smile. "Took me some time to find these ones. I know it's not your birthday; not for another two months anyway but I just thought you may like them for…. I don't know… prom maybe."

"I love them." Jesse dimpled back at her. He then offered his cuffs out to Beca. "Can you help me put them on, please?"

Cufflinks were always fiddly. Beca set to work on removing the old ones he had, her dark head bent over his hands. A faint scowl appeared between her eyes, as she concentrated on twisting each cufflink out. Jesse gazed down and noticed she didn't have her normal ear spike on.

"Nice earrings," he complimented the gold pair she was wearing.

"Thanks." Beca casually said, not looking up. "Brock gave them to me."

Of course he did. Of course Brock Alderman would give his girlfriend a tasteful, expensive gift for her birthday

"I'm sorry," Jesse said out of the blue.

"Sorry for what?" Beca replied, still working on the cuffs.

 _For being a horrible friend. For giving just a crappy, inappropriate plastic brooch. For being mean and nasty and just plain rude_.

"For being a huge dick," Jesse settled on that. "I was a dick about you and Brock. I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have -"

"Dude, shut up," Beca grumbled, frowning down at his cuffs. "Let me work on this."

He fell silent for two seconds.

"So... We're good?"

Beca looked up, giving Jesse a steely glare. That really made him shut up.

"We're good, nerd," she said, handing over the old cufflinks and taking the new ones from Jesse. The faint scowl came back as she concentrated on putting the new ones in. Jesse remembered the many, many times he had seen that look on her face and it was strange why he never realised how adorable it was.

"Things going well between you and Brock, huh?" he asked.

"Yep." She nodded.

"I'm happy for you, Bec. He's a nice guy."

"Yeah he is," Beca agreed. Jesse didn't missed that small smile playing on her lips.

"You really like him, don't you?"

"What's not to like?" Beca shrugged, still concentrating on the cuffs. ""He's kind and sweet and put up with all my Star Wars shit even though he's not into it. I think that's pretty awesome."

"I wish Emma put up with my Star Wars shit," Jesse commented wryly.

"She still thinks it's lame, huh?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "She does."

"Well, that's what you get," Beca smirked. "You did agree with her that Star Wars was lame."

"Bec -" Jesse whined, remembering his little white lie all those months ago. "I was trying to get a date."

"Serves you right," she answered back. "There. All done."

Beca had twisted the second cufflinks in place and she stepped back, still holding his wrists in her hands. She turned them so they could see the cufflinks. The silver roundel and the black Star Alliance emblem stood out against the white stiff fabric and Beca had this grin on her face, obviously delighted at how great they looked. It lit up her whole face.

"What do you think?" she asked, eyes still fixed on his wrists.

"Perfect," Jesse breathed out. "Absolutely perfect."

And he wasn't looking at the cufflinks.

* * *

 **Author's note : Ummmmm...so there might be a part IV?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter IV**

Jesse Swanson knew college would be out of this world.

How could it not be? As much as he loved his family, for the first time ever, he was going to be living away from home. It was a huge step. A milestone. A rite of passage.

Yeah, college would be awesome.

And his roommate was an even bigger Star Wars geek than he was. Jesse thought that was not possible but when he walked into his dorm to be greeted by half a room converted to a Star Wars shrine, Jesse knew he was looking at. He could recognise a superfan when he saw one.

His roommate was Benji.

Benji Applebaum.

Apparently into Star Wars and close up magic.

Jesse had dutifully watched his geeky roommate magicked a hamster seemingly out of nowhere. He was a little concerned how long that little critter might have been hiding in Benji's clothes but he could roll with that. Besides, It would be nice to have someone else to talk about Star Wars with. Now that Beca was not across his yard. She was going to a different college. Her dad, Dr. Mitchell was a professor in Comparative Literature there and she got a free ride. It was a four away drive away but it was no biggie. He'd probably see her at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Maybe Spring break and definitely summer. He still missed her though.

They were somewhat on an even keel after his apology during Prom night. Jesse remembered how much better he felt after that apology. Prom had been fun. He had kicked back, relaxed and danced the night away. He had a couple of dances with Beca and Jesse would always remember how she laughed and shimmied, the trashy brooch he gave her still pinned to her dress, twinkling underneath the disco lights.

The whole of summer they hung out as much as they could. He would have preferred to spend more time with her, especially knowing they would go to different colleges but Jesse understood she had Brock now. As for Emma, Jesse never knew being a boyfriend was so much work and he got an inkling that she was getting really bored. It was almost cliche how they broke up just before the summer.

Still, college was something new. And exciting. And full of new experiences.

Jesse Swanson couldn't wait.

* * *

Both of them had been busy settling into college but they still took time to check up on each other. If it's not a phone call, they usually text. And when they have time, they'll catch up. It was strange, really. When something funny or weird happened in his day, Jesse caught himself thinking he gotta tell Beca when they hang out the night. It took some getting used to that he didn't hang out with Beca that way anymore. Beca was not across his yard. Beca was four hours drive away.

"He's giving you a hard time?"

It was one of those times when the stars aligned and they could catch up via Skype. Jesse's question was a purely rhetorical question, of course. He knew what Beca's relationship with her dad was like. They were on 'okay'ish terms but Beca never quite forgave her dad for 'abandoning' her and her mom to fend for themselves while he shacked up with that blonde hussy'. Jesse thought she was being slightly dramatic but he understood that Sith princesses have feelings too. Apparently.

"Dude, he burst into my dorm room...like always!" Beca complained. "He was 100% checking up on me."

"You sure 'bout that?"

"He totally busted my balls for not attending Phil 101."

"Maybe you should just go to class," Jesse grinned knowing that It will get a rise out of her.

"But Philo sucks."

Jesse had to laugh at the way Beca wrinkled up her nose on his screen. She would probably send in drones to kill him if he said out loud how adorable she looked.

"How's your other classes?" he asked.

"Eh," Beca shrugged. "They're fine."

"Even your dad's?"

"Well- " Beca answered, looking smug. "I've managed to avoid Comparative Literature."

"You've gotta be kidding," Jesse shot back, surprised. "Your Dad let you get away with thar?"

"Only on one condition."

"What is it?'

Beca blew her hair out of her face. Jesse knew the gesture well. She was trying to wriggle out of answering his question.

"He went on and on about enjoying college and making memories." she grimaced at the last few words. "So I made a bargain."

"What sort of bargain?" He was not letting her off so easy.

"I don't have to sign up for his classes -"

"If?"

"If I sign up for a club."

"You're kidding," Jesse nearly laughed out loud. Beca Mitchell, the dark empress of evil, don't do extracurricular activities. "You've signed up for a club?"

"It's nothing," she tried to play it down. "It's more like a... like a group thing. It was the only music-related thing I could find. God knows the DJs thing wasn't what it was."

Yeah. She told him about walking up to the Deaf Jews stand during Activities Fair thinking it was some DJ thing. That had been funny.

"You are so lucky you've got that job at the radio station," Beca whined. "I kill for something like that."

"Well, I did want to join that study about the effects of marijuana on appetite -" Jesse replied. "- but my mom's going to disown me. So -"

"Yeah. She would." Beca grinned back at him. "So...are you going to tell me about that girl at the station?"

Jesse went blank at her question.

"What girl at the station?"

"That brunette," Beca clarified. "We were on Facetime, You were at the station and she waved at me."

"Oh. You mean Molly " Jesse recalled now. He had been proudly showing Beca the dingy radio station he worked at through FaceTime and that Molly, the other intern was just finishing her shift. "She's just someone I work with."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Pretty sure." Jesse nodded. "What are you getting at?"

"I dunno," Beca answered back, shifting on his screen. "You are single. It's college. She seems pretty cute."

"I didn't really notice."

"And she's a brunette," Beca continued. "All you dorky Jedi boys got a thing for brunettes, right?"

"Yeah… you could say that," Jesse nodded, looking directly at his screen. "I like brunettes." There was a beat of silence before he changed the subject. "So how's Brock? You guys doing ok?"

Yeah, life is so unfair. Not only Brock Alderman went to the same college as Beca, he was there on a full ride football scholarship, no less. Like he wasn't rich enough already to afford the fees.

"We're doing great," Beca brightened up. "We are driving out to the lake this weekend. His family has a holiday house there. Which reminds me - I need your opinion on my new bikini."

See? Unfair. Life is so unfair. They have a house on a lake and Beca is… Wait. What?

"Bec..." Jesse started saying but Beca had gone offscreen, only to return a few minutes later, waving what could only be described as small scraps of cloth at the camera.

"What do you think?" Beca asked. "I'm not too sure about it."

He could only gawp at the screen.

When a few minutes past with Jesse silent on the screen, Beca spoke up.

"It's horrible, isn't it?" She looked crestfallen now. "I'm not good at this kind of things. Gimme a lightsaber and I know what to do with that. But this?" She waved that candy-striped bikini at the screen again. "- this one I'm hopeless. What was I thinking?"

She was about to throw the bikini down when Jesse found his voice.

"Wait. Bec. It's..." He swallowed a little before continuing. "it's actually…not that bad."

"Realy?"

"Yeah. It's..ermm..kinda cute."

Jesse was expecting Beca Mitchell to reach out from his screen and force choke him. No one ever called Beca Mitchell cute and lived to tell the tale. But that didn't happen. Beca actually looked a little pleased.

"It's not your usual colour though," Jesse continued.

"I know," Beca nodded, looking thoughtful now..

Jesse nodded along in agreement. Sith princess wears black all the time, not candy coloured stripy pieces of cloth. Not that she wouldn't look awesome in that. She would look totally awesome in anything really.

"I actually got a gold pair as well, " Jesse heard Beca saying now. "Hang on, I'll try the top on for you."

"Wha.. Wait. Bec?"

Before he could finish stuttering out the stupid nonsense pouring out of his mouth, Beca had already disappeared. Jesse was still trying to make sense of what the hell was happening right now. Did Beca said she got a gold….a gold…a gold what? A gold bikini? Before Jesse could process that information through, she re-appeared on his screen. This time, it was complete and utter meltdown. He didn't bother saying anything because somehow a tiny, weeny part of his brain not clouded by the image of Beca Mitchell in a gold bikini top, knew that his power of speech was somewhat incapacitated.

"So?" Beca's voice penetrated through the fog in his head. "What do you think?"

"Umm…"

Beca was bunching up her hair into a messy bun on top of her head and somehow her arms raised that way was making things move. She was now leaning forward, looking at the tiny screen of her picture and slowly adjusting the top.

"You think it's ok?" Beca asked, still busy with the straps. Again, it was making things move. In weird and wonderful ways. "I really want to look good."

"Holy Princess Leia."

That voice? That voice was not his.

Jesse whipped round to find Benji standing behind him. The door of their shared dorm wasn't locked and he must not have heard his roommate slipping in after his class. The said roommate was now clutching the strap of his backpack and looking more than a little stunned.

"Benji." Jesse said out loud.

"Benji?" He heard the echo from his laptop. Jesse swung back round to face his laptop to find Beca looking a little panic-stricken on the screen.

He swiftly picked up the laptop, moving away from Benji's immediate space. They had 'met' before on Skype when the curly haired guy was in the room during one of Jesse and Beca's catch-up. Of course, Benji had to show Beca his side of the room with the Death Star and the cape. Trust Jesse's luck to have two Sith as his close friends.

"Benji's back," Jesse said.

"Ok," Beca answered. "Text me later.'

"Ok." His mouth seemed to be full of marbles now and speaking was a little difficult. "Great show. I mean.. Great talk. I'll.. I'll sext.. Text. I'll text you later."

As soon as he closed his laptop down, Jesse blew out a breath in relief. Jeez, what was she thinking wearing a gold bikini like that? Not that she didn't look good. She looked 'farkling' spectacular. Forget the dark side of the force. If that Sith princess wanted to bring any Jedi over to the Dark Side, she just needed to parade up and down in a gold bikini. There will be lightsabers in pockets everywhere.

"Dude.."

Jesse nearly dropped his laptop. He forgot Benji was still in the room. When he turned his attention to Benji, the nerd was still standing in the middle of the room, looking as stunned as before. Jesse saw Benji opening and shutting his mouth but what was coming out wasn't making sense.

"W..Was that-" Benji stuttered.

"Yeah."

"W..was she -"

"Yup."

It took a few moments for Benji to work his jaw again and this time, he looked really apologetic.

"I'm sorry -" he started. "I didn't know. The door was unlocked. And -"

"Benji, what are you saying?" Jesse asked, confused now.

"I mean - if I knew, you were -" Now Benji was blushing beetroot red and looking very uncomfortable. "I didn't mean to walk in with you and your girlfriend-"

"Hang on," Jesse interrupted. "Beca's not my girlfriend."

"She's not?"

"No."

Benji's stunned look changed to confusion.

"But you guys talked all the time. And she loves Star Wars." It seemed to Benji that would be enough grounds to be in a relationship. "I thought you guys were.. you know… role-playing -"

Jesse had to pinch the bridge of his nose.

"No, she was just bought a new bikini and wanted my opinion on it," he tried to explain. "She got to go to some lake thing over the weekend with her boyfriend, Brock."

"Beca has a boyfriend?"

"Yeah," Jesse answered. _And it's not me_ \- he added silently before being slightly weirded out by that thought. "He's a Trekkie."

"Beca's going out with a Trekkie?" Benji answered in surprise. "Huh."

Jesse didn't bother to reply, busy with putting away his laptop and reaching for his Physics textbook. Maybe some Physics 101 could knock that image of Beca Mitchell in a gold bikini out of his head.

"You should tell her she looks awesome in that bikini." Benji was saying now, putting down his backpack.

 _Dude, I know_ \- Jesse wanted to answer back. Instead, he looked for his phone and quickly texted a message to Beca. "The stripey one looks cute. Go with that one."

And that weekend when he checked Beca's Instagram, Jesse saw a pic of her at the lake with Brock's arm around her shoulders. She was smiling at the camera, squinting a little because the sun was in her eyes. She was wearing the candy-striped bikini top with frayed denim shorts. Good. She decided to go with that one. Jesse was happy with that. He didn't really want anyone else to see Beca in the gold one.


End file.
